The Mercury Music Prize 2017 WINNER is Sampha with his album Process – here’s all you need to know
The awards ceremony showcased the best of British music - and winner Sampha proved he is a top talent by beating out Ed Sheeran and Stormzy
SAMPHA has won the Mercury Prize for 2017 with his album Process.
The Mercury Prize is a bit different to awards like Grammys and Brits as it tends to ignore huge commercial hits and showcases music not everyone will have heard of from a wide range of genres.
Who won the Mercury Prize 2017?
Sampha won the Mercury Prize with his album Process.
The nominees for the Mercury Prize are always albums, here were the nominations:
- Sampha - Process (winner)
- alt-j - Relaxer
- Blossoms - Blossoms
- Dinosaur - Together, As One
- Ed Sheeran - ÷ (Divide)
- Glass Animals - How To Be A Human Being
- J Hus - Common Sense
- Kate Tempest - Let Them Eat Chaos
- Loyle Carner - Yesterday's Gone
- Stormzy - Gang Signs & Prayer
- The Big Moon - Love in the 4th Dimension
- The xx - I See You
Given the huge commercial success Ed Sheeran's enjoyed in 2017, you might think he'd would have had it in the bag. Or you might have thought grime artist Stormzy would be a shoe-in.
However the Mercury Prize is not really about commercial success and often the winner is a smaller artist.
Sampha was the bookies' favourite, with Stormzy and Loyle Carner not far behind. Poet Kate Tempest was also a surprise favourite with good odds on winning but narrowly missed out.
What is the Mercury Prize, when did it start and who's won it in the past?
The Mercury Prize was first awarded in 1992, to Primal Scream for their album Screamadelica.
It was originally established as an alternative to the Brit Awards, and any album released by a British or Irish artist is eligible, as is an album by any band whose members are 50% British or Irish.
Winners of the prize get a cheque of £20,000 plus a trophy, and can expect a huge boost to album sales as a result of bagging the award.
They're not usually like the commercially successful winners of awards like the Brits although Skepta (2016), Dizzee Rascal (2003) and the Arctic Monkeys (2006) have all won before.
Other past winners include Antony and the Johnsons (2005), Badly Drawn Boy (2000) and Talvin Singh (1999), who are less well-known.
PJ Harvey is the only artist to have won the prize twice, in 2001 and 2011. .
Radiohead are the most shortlisted artist, making the nominations list five times, but they have never won.
